sublevelmusic-blog

[sublevelmusic-blog]

I know its been a while since my last article post on here. Ive been busy working on a bunch of new things. I have also started developing some helpful resources for other composers and producers, such as in depth guides and video courses, which I hope to have finished and available soon. 

As far as the blog goes, specifically text posts, it has been moved to my companies website. If anyone has followed and read this blog over the past 5 years or so, feel free to visit me over at the link above. I will continue to write about music production and audio related topics as well as share the odd bites of news related to work. 

Thanks for reading!

Joe

[sublevelmusic-blog]

Entering the dark side

[sublevelmusic-blog]

New studio toy - Push! #ableton #musicproduction

[sublevelmusic-blog]

Bootleg in the making #ableton #remix #studiolife

[sublevelmusic-blog]

Programming some 808 patterns this morning #ableton #808 #housemusic

[sublevelmusic-blog]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by DJ Jinx | Sub Level Music (@sublevelmusic)

Sick bongo infected jazz #vinyl #jazz

[sublevelmusic-blog]

Scratch Tracks (Audio)

If you have scratch tracks, send them to me.

This is how I work with just about every artist. The artist will record themselves singing their song, or humming a melody idea into their phone or laptop. Then, send me the scratch audio track for me to build the entire instrumental around.

As rough as the initial idea is, it tells me a lot about where I can take the song. I can figure out the tempo, find the right chords to fit with the vocals, and from the timing of how the vocalist delvers on the scratch track, I can work out the rhythm as well.

I find when working with scratch tracks, its good to line up the audio with your DAW's timeline. That way you can get a sense of where the different sections are in the song. I.e. - verse, chorus, breakdowns, bridge etc, and plan the instrumentation as well as how to increase and decrease the energy of the song.

But further to a scratch track just being a basic idea or demo, it can also help you understand the emotion behind the song. Even though scratch tracks are rarely good enough in sound quality to use on a final mix, the feeling is always present and more then enough musical information to begin building the composition.

When you feel emotion from a raw piece of audio, you can decide on what type of sounds to choose for the composition. This is also known as the theme of the song. Is the song dark and mysterious or happy and energetic. The scratch track should guide you to choosing the tone of your sound selection and make musical decisions with more ease.

Here are a few before and after samples I've produced for some of my artists.

Joe

[sublevelmusic-blog]

[sublevelmusic-blog]

Getting started in Electronic Music

This post was originally answered on Quora.

Electronic music unlike other genres is one of the most experimental and free styles of music to work in. This isn't to say that other forms of music dont involve experimentation. However, from my experience, electronic music is probably the least formulaic as opposed to the scientific prof of formula success in pop music.

You don't necessarily need to know exactly what genre or sub-genre you want to make at first. And I recommend not even worrying too much about genre. Rather, be willing to get lost in the process of experimentation and creating sound.

I've broken down some areas I would focus on at first (in no particular order).

Taste

This goes for anything creative, but I thought I would talk briefly about how it relates to music production. Be willing to listen to many forums of music, old, new and especially styles outside of the genres you want to make. This will give you a much broader sound palette to choose from in terms of influences. Some of the best producers I know of have always been able to innovate and re- invent their sound by not limiting themselves to one style or influence.

Tools (The bare minimum)

I would start with the bare minimum in terms of tools. That way you don't  distract yourself with all the technical stuff and focus on learning the fundamentals of what you have and most importantly, making music.

This is what I started with and still use today. I have updated my setup but my studio still remains minimal and lite on tech.

A fast computer

Affordable sound card

Affordable studio monitors and/or headphones

A MIDI controller

DAW such as Ableton, Logic, Reason etc

Once you have the essential tools. Forget about seeking new ones and focus on learning what you have. Believe me, even if the stock devices don't look as fancy as some VST's doesn't mean they aren't capable of getting the job done. Not to mention how much time goes into searching for and trying out new toys. Time that could be used making music.

Sound Design Basics

You'll want to learn basic drum programming and understanding of layering and rhythm. A basic understanding of synthesis and sampling is also important if you want to make electronic music. Know what oscillators are and how to use the different wave shapes which are generated from them to create your own tones. Learn how you can use filters and envelope (attack, decay, sustain, release) to shape your own sound patches. 

Composition

Although a knowledge of music theory helps, it isn't essential. I do feel the ability to recognize harmony and melody, and to know what feels right vs what distracts you from the song, is a much more important skill set. Electronic music is heavily based around sounds. The more interesting your sounds are, the better. With that said, chord progressions and melodies are generally pretty simple.

Study bar lengths and how to increase and decrease energy. This goes for all forms of music however, tension and release play a big part in electronic music. Mainly because the majority of the time, it is played for an audience at clubs and festivals. So the arrangements are usually very predictable. Usually built around 8,16 and 32 bar sections.

Mixing (and other fundamentals)

Its arguable that mixing has become very much integrated into the sound design stage. It plays a important role in how a sound is shaped. So I would recommend learning some basic mixing techniques. If in the end you find your strong areas are in composition and sound design, and struggle to get a balanced mix, then I would recommend hiring a mix engineer to give your music a final balance before mastering.

Once you know the fundamentals, everything really comes down to your ideas, how creative they are, how unique they are etc. This is the case for pretty much anything. So learn the technical stuff, learn the essentials and the rest comes down to your own imagination.

Joe

[sublevelmusic-blog]

Personality types and collaboration

On one side of the spectrum you have introverted personality types. Introverts by nature tend to work best alone. Relating this to music collaboration, introverts might find themselves creating their best work in solitude. This is because they gain their physical and mental energy inward (usually alone and in quiet environments). The internet has opened up many collaboration opportunities for introverts. This is due to being able to communicate creative ideas remotely, yet still allowing for the necessary time and space to come up with musical ideas without the distractions and pressures of a group dynamic or scheduled sessions.

On the other hand, extroverts might find themselves creating their best work around others. This is because they gain their physical and mental energy outward (usually around lots of people or rowdy environments). And while the internet has opened up many collaboration opportunities for introverts, extroverts might look at online collaboration as a hindrance. Because extroverts gain their energy outward, remote collaboration might make them feel isolated and not fully part of the creative process.

It’s important to understand that there are benefits to both types and no one is stronger or better than the other. Many of our worlds innovation is a perfect example of how introvert and extrovert collaboration have huge benefits. Take Steve Jobs and Steve Wazniak, founders of apple. Jobs being the front man and Waznaik working behind the scenes on the more technical side of the process.

"To illustrate this ideal yin-and-yang balance, Cain considers the famous introvert-extrovert partnership between Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs of Apple. Crabapple’s Steve Jobs is a bespectacled dog, whose dazzling showman persona is balanced out by self-identified introvert Steve Wozniak, a bearded cat alone in a Hewlett Packard cubicle. Wozniak worked quietly by himself for months producing what turned into the Apple computer. It was Jobs who became a household name while taking this product global, but he couldn’t have done it without the quiet guy."

Carey Dunne

Failing to accept these differences usually leads to weakened creativity for those who work best alone. An aspect of collaboration many extroverts fail to see. I just want to say for the record, this post is not intended to beat up on those who prefer group collaboration. I feel in some rare cases they are essential to the creative process. However, no one person is hard wired the same and effective collaboration doesn't always have to be a group sport. 

In this video, Susan Cain points out this issue perfectly.

Joe

[sublevelmusic-blog]

5 Tips for creating a Signature Sound

Signature sounds help us associate with different genres and sub genres.

For example, many early house records from the 90's wouldn't be the same if it wasn't for the classic organ bass preset from the Korg M1 synthesizer.

Once a track has that memorable sound attached to it, it becomes not only the signature sound for that one producer, but can also become the defining sound for an entire genre.

Here's a list of ways you can develop your own signature sound.

1. Recycling Sounds:

If you find yourself constantly pulling from the same samples, save them and reuse them in future projects. There's really no need to dig through hundreds of kick drums when you know there's a hand full that work perfectly for the style of music you produce. If you end up experimenting with a new sound or genre, then give yourself time to explore new sounds. Eventually as you finish more tracks in that style, save those new sounds as well. Narrow down that massive sample collection to the bare essentials.

2. Arrangement:

For whatever reason, so many new producers have a hard time copying arrangements and song structure. I dont see anything wrong with it at all. Pop structure has always been the same for the most part, so why not apply this mindset to other styles of music? If you've finished a track, played it out at a club, and know the arrangement works, use that exact arrangement over and over again.

3. Tools:

Every DAW, synth or plugin bring with them there own presets or characteristics. The tools you choose to compose with will begin to define your own personal sound. When you've created an cool instrument rack or combination of effects chains, save them and reuse them in future projects. There's a reason why certain producers are known for a "sound" its because they created it some how (mostly through experimentation) found it worked and reused it over and over again.

4. Performance:

The way you play or program your parts plays an important role in developing your own sound. This I believe is more based on feel or groove. But it still defines you as an artist. It could be something as simple as the swing of your beats that define an aspect of your sound.

5. Tone and Energy of the Mix:

If you mix your own tracks or use a mix engineer who understands whats best for your music, chances are your tracks will begin to take on consistencies in energy and tone. For example, the loudness or aggression of your mix, the amount of compression and distortion, use of reverb, delay and other time based effects. How all of these tools are used play a role in defining your own sound.

Joe

[sublevelmusic-blog]

Tension vs Release in Music

In all forms of music, tension and release is used as a way of taking the listener on a ride.Tension is anticipation. Its whats going to keep the listener interested. If your music lacks tension your not giving the listener enough to look forward to. And if there’s too much tension, you risk the listener becoming anxious quickly. Release on the other hand is simply change. Whenever you introduce a change in your musical arrangement, you essentially resolve tension. This could be a drum pattern change, chord change, a breakdown etc.

A basic understanding of bar length and arrangement is important to figuring out how long tension should build for before it resolves. Just study your favorite tracks and you will probably notice a ongoing theme. For example, in dance music, build ups tend to happen over 8,16 or 24 bar measures. Sometimes unconventional bar lengths work well when building tension, however, its good practice to study how tension is built in most forms of music in order to learn how to apply it to your own.

You can create tension, and release it by trying some of the following:

Drum arrangements: Increase in drum elements adds tension, while a decrease of drum elements releases tension.

Tempo Changes: Gradually faster tempo changes increases tension, while gradually slowing down releases tension.

Rhythmic Patterns: The more beats active in a pattern (i.e. 16th notes) increases tension, while less notes in a pattern (i.e. 1/4 notes) releases tension.

Pitch Changes: Rises in pitch increases tension, while pitching notes down releases tension.

Note Lengths: Shorter note lengths (staccato) increases tension, while longer note lengths (legato) releases tension.

Volume: Louder elements in music increase tension, while quieter elements release tension.

Repetition: Loops and build ups in music increase tension, while variations in a arrangement releases tension.

Dissonance: The building up of notes which dont necessarily harmonize increases tension, while harmonic or melodic combinations releases tension.

These are just some of the ways you can use tension and release in your music.

Joe

[sublevelmusic-blog]

Using EQ to make your Music Louder

EQ can be a useful tool for making your music sound much louder. When you change the EQ curve, you essentially change the way your ears perceive volume. This is due to a specific band of frequencies in the upper mid-range (1-7khz) which our ears are most sensitive too, the area our ears associate with something being “harsh” or “loud”. This area of frequency spectrum is also known as the “presence” area. Boosting 2 or 3dbs here will result in a much louder sounding mix.

The upper-mid range isn’t the only area to consider when using eq for loudness. Its important to also consider bass, and how it can affect the way compression and limiting will react during the mixing and mastering phase. For example, too much bass in your mix will distort as soon as it hits any compression and limiting. One way to help this issue is to use high pass filters (low-cut). Of course, with this method you are sacrificing nice, rounder sounding bottom end for the purpose of getting your mix levels up without audible distortion. If you don’t want your mixes to sound to “thin” avoid cutting too far up the frequency spectrum. The furthest I tend to go would be 150-200Hz. This also depends on what sounds right in the mix and how narrow the que value is. Lower mid-range frequencies can also eat up a lot of room in a mix. Slight scoops in the 200-500Hz region tends to add more clarity and less "mud" or "boxiness".

Where using EQ to achieve loudness can be useful, is that it means you don’t have to only depend on compression and limiting to get there. Instead of squashing the life out of your music, just to make it loud, a bit of equalization in the right areas, can help you achieve this and still keep some dynamic life in your music.

If it’s your goal to get much louder sounding mixes, be aware that this, just like compression and any other processing should happen in stages rather than only during mastering. For example, if I’m listening back with fresh ears to a mix I just finished, and feel it lacks presence overall, I wouldn’t just pop an eq on my master and boost 5db at 7kHz. Instead, I would go through my mix and think about which elements could use the extra lift in and around that region of frequencies. Typically, I would aim to treat the lead synths, vocals, drums and percussion groups first. Applying a touch of presence to these 3 elements alone will make a big difference in how loud your mix is perceived. Then, a gentle 2-3 db boost on the master channel (if needed) should be just enough to achieve much more perceived loudness. Be careful boosting here as well. Boosting too much in the upper mid-range could also make your mixes sound harsh or thin.

Joe

[sublevelmusic-blog]

All music is recycled

From other genres, influences etc.

Just listen to most of the music from the 90’s. The majority of those records were built on sampled loops and snippets from older records. Elements that may of never received the attention they deserved if it wasn’t for the artists who decided to put their own spin on them.

Many new and in experienced producers tend to fall into creative blocks because they often try too hard to create something that’s never been done before. This can really hurt the creative process. In fact, its arguable that originality doesn't even exist anymore. And the only thing original is you. So what you might want to aim for is authenticity rather then originality.

If you struggling with this ask yourself - how can you create something completely original when soundcloud on average uploads 12 hours of new music every minute!

Trying to reinvent the wheel will more often then not hurt your creativity. Remember everything is borrowed from something that’s already been done. Decide what it is you want to create, and allow yourself to be influenced by it. The outcome will always be something completely unique anyway.

Joe

[sublevelmusic-blog]

Sourcing samples for an upcoming e.p. project #vinyl #studiolife #digging #ableton

[sublevelmusic-blog]

Look at what my girl got me. Off the wall on wax sealed!

[sublevelmusic-blog]

Tools vs Options

Obviously tools are needed to get the job done. This doesn’t just apply to music, but any line of work. It’s important to have a collection of tools at your disposal that you are comfortable with and know inside and out. It’s equally important to understand that tools alone are nothing more than blunt objects. They don’t have a soul and don’t do anything. It’s essentially up to the person who’s using those tools to determine your music’s overall sound and quality.

The tool itself is rarely a workflow distraction. Options often are. Inner conflicts tend to creep up when you have too many options of the same tool. For example, if you have 5 EQ plugins vs 1 to choose from, that’s going to slow down your workflow. Because now you have to take time to decide which one out of the 5 to use for a specific task.  And they all service the same purpose. It doesn’t matter where it’s coming from, EQ is EQ. Before you know it, your head deep into choice paralysis.

There are many benefits to limiting your options of tools. I find when I limit my options I have much more creative output, I learn the fundamentals of the tool and the task, I’m much more efficient and I make faster, and better choices.

Of course, various options have their perks too. A stock plugin might have a different sound or color then a VST. There might even be slight feature variations between different options. But if you are aiming to become a better producer/engineer, sticking to one option of each tool will help you learn fundamentals. Especially if you’re just starting out. This is much more valuable than jacking up the number of options at your disposal.

Joe